


Promises

by jamcspotters



Series: Harry Potter writings [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Harry Potter Imagine, Harry Potter x you, James Potter - Freeform, James Potter imagine, James Potter oneshot, James Potter x reader - Freeform, James Potter x you, The Marauders - Freeform, harry potter fanfiction, harry potter x reader, the marauders fanfiction, the marauders imagine, the marauders x reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-06 18:10:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16837741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamcspotters/pseuds/jamcspotters
Summary: After days of hiding from your best friend, forced proximity may just be what it takes for secrets to be revealed.





	Promises

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr might go to shit so I'm backing up my fics here. I'm new to ao3 so I'm not really sure how to do this but here we go<33

For the last few days, you’d felt the desperate need to hide, and in some odd chain of events, the place you ended up in was the Hogwarts library, the welcoming smell of books and the promise of silence luring you in. Between the bookshelves was a kind of privacy you couldn’t seem to find anywhere else in the castle.

There was a table in the far left corner of the library, hidden behind a labyrinth of bookshelves containing books in Latin and other strange languages you could not understand. It was by sheer dumb luck that you had come over it, and you thanked whatever higher power there was for making it happen.

For when James kept looking at you like that, his arms brushing yours and his hair falling forwards in that incredibly attractive way, how could you be near him anymore?

You’d crawled into one of the chairs by said table, weeks of unfinished homework displayed in front of you on the old, stained wood of the table, with a hammering pain in your head and an aching heart. You knew from the moment you’d sat down that no actual work would get done that day.

He had smiled at you earlier, the corners of his lips curling up in a smile that you swore was reserved only for you. The hollow feeling it left in your stomach as he looked away again was almost worth it.

Worth all the hours of lat night contemplation, the unease you felt around him, almost worth the fact that your friendship was decaying quickly.

Because how could you spend as much time around him as you used to, when he was making your heart thump in your chest and your head spin at even the simplest gestures?

Falling for your best friends was something you’d never imagined would happen to you. Sure, you and James had seen it about twenty different times when you had your movie nights, but the idea of it actually happening to either of you just felt so far fetched that it had never crossed your mind.

Shifting uncomfortably in your seat, you reached out to grab the nearest piece of parchment, some weird surge of confidence convincing you that you’d still be able to do homework with this looming in the back of your mind.

The gut-wrenching truth was that you would never be able to tell him. Confessing something like this would ruin the longest friendship of your life. And though you would never admit it, the most important one.

Because even when he made you overthink everything you did and trip over your words, he was still the one person in the entire world you were the most comfortable around. Who knew your secrets, and the most horrible bits of you as a person but still stuck around, piecing you back together when you were too broken to do it yourself.

And therefore, you thought, clicking your pen in concentration, you could not tell him. You would not tell him.

The sound of someone speaking your name brought you out of your thoughts. Snapping your head towards the sound you felt your heart sink as you met the hazel eyes of James Potter.

He hurried over to you, grinning wildly and dragging a hand through his messy locks as they fell forwards into his face. “I’ve been looking all over for you. Are you hiding from me, love?” he teased as he slid in next to you, so close that you could feel the heat radiating off his body.

“I would never,” you mumbled, feeling heat rush to your cheeks at how intently he was watching you. “How did you find me, anyway?”

With a loud slap, he let the Marauders map fall onto the table in front of you.

“What have I told about stalking me like that, Potter?” you grumbled crossing your arms in an effort to hide from him.

“That you love it,” he put an emphasis on the word ‘love’, throwing an arm around your shoulders casually as if he didn’t notice the way you shied away from him.

Your heart was trying to escape from the confinements of your chest, beating so hard that you were sure he could hear it. The feeling of his breath on the side of your neck sent a shiver down your spine, and for a split second, you wondered if you should just tell him. Rip the band-aid off quickly.

“You’ve been distant lately,” James commented from beside you, his voice wavering slightly as if he was more worried about this than he was letting on.

“I’ve been busy with school,” you muttered, motioning towards the pile of unfinished work lying ahead of you.

“That’s old work though,” he mumbled, brows furrowing, “we leave for Christmas break tomorrow, we haven’t gotten any more homework.”

“I’m trying to catch up,” he knew you too well, he could tell you were lying.

“I’ll help you,” he narrowed his eyes at you, waiting for you to reveal a plot-hole in your story.

You ran your teeth over your lips at a loss for words, “Like you said, we leave for break tomorrow. I think I’ve done enough catching up on school work for now.”

His eyes scanned your face, looking to catch you in a lie. In a moment of weakness you smiled warmly at him, batting your eyes; “would I lie to you, James?”

You could feel him relax against you, mumbling an ‘of course not’. The sinking guilt in your stomach was eating at you, you hated manipulating him like this. Taking a deep breath, you convinced yourself that you were doing this for his best, after all, he would be heartbroken if he found out that you had been avoiding him.

“You’re coming to my parents’ Christmas party, right?” he questioned, and you could hear the insecurity slipping into his voice. He put up a tough front, but in reality, James was one of the most insecure people you knew.

“I would miss it for the world.”

The way his face lit up made your face skip a beat.

The Potters’ Christmas party was, to many people, the even of the year. And this year was no different.

The whole house was bustling with people of all ages. Old witches and wizards were dressed in their best clothes, talking quietly between themselves and catching up with old acquaintances. Children were running around, screaming gleefully and getting scolded by their parents, who took the event far too seriously.

As you stepped into the crowded room, you felt your chest tighten. Standing on your tip toes, you let your eyes scan the room, anxiously awaiting meeting James’ eyes. You shifted uncomfortably, pulling on the hem of your dress, uncomfortable with how tight it was. This was the last time you let Marlene pick your outfit.

Before you had the chance to search any further, two strong arms wrapped around you from behind, picking you up and spinning you around. You let out a shrill scream at the new sensation, hearing James laugh from behind you.

He sat you down with a grin, his hair, that his mother had clearly tried to gel down, had gone back to its messy norm. A laugh tumbled out of your lips as you saw the excitement in his eyes, and for a second you almost forgot how painful the whole thing was.

“You look good,” he mumbled, letting his eyes roam your body before turning bright red at the look you gave him.

You swatted his chest, laughing quietly before speaking teasingly, “You don’t clean up too bad either, Potter.”

And it was true, he looked good. His hair stuck up maybe even more than usual, you blamed the hair gel, and he had on a black suit that fit surprisingly well. God knows James had trouble finding clothes that fit his lanky body.

The Christmas music blaring out of the speakers mixed with the loud chatter of people who hadn’t seen each other in months made your head ache. Closing your eyes for a second, you reached up to massage your temples, drawing in a sharp breath when you heard Sirius call James’ name.

James must have seen the way you flinched, placing a hand on your lower back, he looked down at you, brows furrowing in concern, “Are you okay?”

Sighing deeply, you spoke, “I’m okay James, it’s just a headache.”

He nodded, casting one last glance at you before starting a conversation with Sirius, yet keeping his hand on your back. It burned your skin, and you cursed yourself for the butterflies that such a simple act of affection caused.

They kept on chatting, talking loudly about their plans for the break and the latest Quidditch games. Without thinking, you leaned your head on James’ shoulder, the exhaustion hiding such a thing caused finally taking over.

His hand slid from your back to around your waist, pulling you closer to his side as he continued talking. Doing such things never seemed to face him, and sometimes it made you so damn angry because they caused you so much pain.

Letting your eyes slip closed, you tried to push all the anxieties of his casual affection out of your head. For a second, you entertained the idea of being in a relationship with him. You could see it so vividly in your head, and a small part of you thought maybe it wouldn’t be so different from the way things were now.

“Do you want to dance?” you heard James whisper in your ear softly, his hair tickling your forehead as you opened your eyes.

You were going to decline, of course, you were, you weren’t some kind of masochist either. But then you saw the look on his face and the adoration in his eyes, and in a moment of weakness, you nodded, feeling warmth spread in your chest at the way he smiled at you.

He grabbed your hand, pushing his way through the crowd, mumbling something about ‘loving this song’. He could probably feel the way your hand was sweating, the nervousness of being one of the only people at the party who was dancing showing, yet, like the gentleman he was, he made no comment on it.

Before you could protest, James was spinning you around, coaxing a loud laugh out of you as he kept twirling you, chuckling at you gleeful squeal. By the time he stopped, the room was spinning and your stomach was doing some kind of summersault.

In the midst of the laughter, you had not noticed just how dizzy you had gotten, and before you had the chance to steady yourself, you were pressed against James’ chest, his warm arms being the only things holding you upright.

You were going to push yourself away from him, you really were, but when his strong arms were wrapped around you like that, and his eyes were looking into yours with- something you couldn’t quite place, how were you supposed to?

His breath fanned your face, the faint smell of the coffee he’d had earlier mixing with his cologne as his eyes flickered down to your lips.

His chest was pressed against yours, and your heart was beating so hard that you were sure he could feel it trying to escape from within your chest. Reaching one of the hands that were pressed against his chest up, you let your fingers trace his jaw. As you moved them softly along the side of his face, you could see his jaw clenching as his face inched closer to yours.

In a moment of courage, you grabbed his tie, pulling him down just enough so that you could place your lips on his. The sound of the party faded as his lips moved against your feverishly. His arms around your back tightening, pressing your body against his.

You could taste the coffee of his soft lips, the intoxicating feeling of him pressed against you like this making your head spin. Your hands moved on autopilot as they entangled themselves in his hair, earning a sound from deep within his chest.

You pulled back, pushing away from him in a harsh motion before looking to his face. He stood there wide-eyed, lips tinted with your lipstick and tilted up into a slight grin.

Your heart plummeted to the bottom of your stomach, reality dawning on you as you took two steps back. You had ruined everything.

In a rush of adrenaline, you took off. Frantically pushing your way through the crowd as you throat closed up. James’ voice calling out for you drowned out in the chatter, the whole thing making your head feel as if it would explode any minute.

Heaving for air, you rushed up the staircase, heading straight for James’ room, you felt the tears roll down your cheeks. Any type of logical thought had left your head as you sank down on his bed.

Your head fell to your hands, the hollowness of your stomach pushing raw sobs out of your throat as you broke down. You chest cramped as you desperately tried to breathe through your sobs.

Dragging a hand over your face, your sobs finally subdued enough for you to get some air in. Your eyes were raw from tears, yet, they still kept falling. The pure exhaustion of the last few weeks washed over you as you fell back onto the bed.

What had you done?

The feeling of the bed dipping beside you told you that James had found you. He didn’t say anything, just breathing heavily as if he wasn’t quite sure how to go on about the situation. Keeping your eyes trained on the ceiling, you drew in a sharp breath, preparing for the worst.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, his voice breaking slightly, “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“What do you mean?” you felt your heart sin

“I’ve been- Handsy lately- or something, I don’t know. But I’m sorry.”

“Don’t b-”

“I just thought that maybe you like me back,” he huffed, “stupid, but anyways- and that it’d make it easier if you could piece it together yourself- that I like you, I mean-”

“James,” you cut off his rambling, your heart in your throat as you titled your head to the side to look at him. His cheeks were flushed, and his hair was even messier than it had been earlier that night, probably caused by him frantically running his hands through it.

You would see him weighing his options carefully, dreading the response he would get from you.

“What?”

“I like you too, you idiot,” the words felt weird coming out of your mouth, after months of avoiding him and the painful aching in your chest every time he smiled at you, something as simple as ‘I like you’ felt like such an understatement.

You could hear him drawing in a sharp breath, “Really.”

“Yeah,” you laughed softly, heart skipping a beat when his hand found yours, squeezing it slightly. The warmth spreading in your chest and the way you could hear your heartbeat ringing in your ears felt too dramatic, and not dramatic enough all at the same time.

Because truly, it was just holding hands, nothing you hadn’t done before. But it was also finally not having to hide things from him anymore, the pressure of secrecy lifting from your chest and finally letting you breathe for the first time in months.

“I thought I ruined everything,” you confessed after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

“You could never ruin anything,” he reassured you, his calloused thumb tracing small circles on the back of your hand as he spoke.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”


End file.
